Day: January 13, 2013

TOOTGAROOK Wetlands activist Cameron Brown of Rosebud West has had a David and Goliath-type win in the state planning tribunal. The Victorian Civil and Adminis­trative Tribunal has found that a permit issued by Mornington Peninsula Shire for a housing development on the edge of the wetlands is invalid. The win has been hailed by conserva­tionists as a victory for “people power” and another step toward stop­ping com­mercial and residential deve­lop­ment in the wetlands, large parts of which are privately owned. The VCAT ruling has left Mornington Peninsula Shire severely embarrassed. If the development company is forc­ed to remediate the block…

PENINSULA Link builder Linking Mel­bourne Authority is remaining tight-lipped about the expected open­ing date of the 27-kilometre freeway between Carrum Downs and Mt Mar­tha. Rumours about the date have been circulating since before Christmas with one Melbourne radio station broad­casting Australia Day long weekend as a possible opening time. On Sunday, a Melbourne newspapers stated “the freeway does not open for at least another week” when reporting that users of Apple Maps on the iPhone had been wrongly directed to the unfinished road. Apple Maps users have been directed to the freeway for more than a month. On Tuesday, Gemma…